Through Thick And Thin
by samanthafriason
Summary: Billy and Phyllis are finally engaged, but they'll hit a major bump in the road. Will their love be enough to conquer all?
1. Chapter 1

He should have known weeks ago. It should have been obvious. Why hadn't it been obvious? She was tired more often, slept longer than usual, had a loss of appetite, loss of focus- so many signs that he beat himself up over for not picking up on. He suddenly  
rememberedthe first time he should've suspected something was wrong.

Time away from Phyllis was always difficult, but today was different. A 6 day business trip for Brash and Sassy was finally coming to an end and he couldn't wait to get home to his beautiful fiancé.

He wasn't supposed to be home until tomorrow afternoon,but Cane and Victoria agreed to wrap up any unfinished business.

After an 8 hour flight and an hour drive, he was happy to be home. He grabbed the house keys out of one of his many bags and quietly he snuck into the house and dropped them onto the floor.

He peeked around the corner expecting to see Phyllis on the couch maybewatching TV, but his smile quickly disappeared when there was no sign of her.

He became confused and called out her name, "Phyllis?" No response. Maybe she was out running errands he thought. After all, she wasn't expecting him until tomorrow.

He picked up his bags from the floor, headed upstairs, and walked towards their bedroom. He pushed open the door with his foot and was stunned by what he saw.

There, lying on his side of the bed, she laid. A smile swept across his face as he studied her whileshe slept. Her arms encircled her small frame and the covers were pulled up to her neck.

He debated letting her sleep, but the lack of physical contact for 6 days was much too long for him. He set the bags down in front of their dresser and tiptoed

over to the bed.

He climbed on the opposite side and before she could feel the bed dip, he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her neck from behind placing sweet kisses on her collarbone.

A startled Phyllis opened her eyes and wriggledto free from his grip, but Billy kept his hold on her and embraced her even tighter.

She whipped her head around, relieved to see that it was Billy. "Oh, it's you" she spoke.

" _Oh, it's me"_ he mocked her. "Were you expecting someone else? Should I be jealous?" He asked jokingly.

"Absolutely not." Phyllis replied, a smile tugging at her lips. She shifted her body and was now laying on her side, facing him.

He lifted his hand from her waist and rested it on the side of her face allowing his thumb to run back and forth across her cheekbone.

"I missed you." She whispered, scooting inches closer to him, their chests now pressed together.

They fit together like two perfectly made puzzle pieces, and they could feel one another's heart beat in each other's body, never feeling more in sync than in

this moment.

He started into her emerald eyes, gratefully thinking about how lucky he was to get to come home to such an amazing woman every night.

This is something he's never felt before. Sure, he'd been in love with Victoria but when they were together, the fighting and

the lack of trust overpowered the love until there was nothing left to destroy.

She never fully accepted Billy for who he was. There was always something about him that Victoria aimed to change.

But with Phyllis, the love was unconditional. She didn't need him to change in order to he happy- she didn't want him to. They both accepted each other 100% for who they are, flaws and imperfections included and this only made their love grow.

Billy leaned in towards her, rested his forehead against hers for a while, and then planted a very passionate kiss on her.

She was intoxicating to him, he simply couldn't get enough. Her laugh, her kisses, her walk, her scent, even the way she looked at him when she was angry. Everything about her made him fall in love all over again, day after day.

Phyllis broke the kiss, but pecked him once more on the lips and allowed it to linger. "And I _definitely_ missed that"

"I think I may have missed you more" Billy said allowing his fingertips to graze over the soft skin on her side.

He would start at the shoulder, trace down the slope of her waist, back up her hip, and across her thigh. He repeated the movement, up anddown, up and down, until he stopped and placed his hand on the small of her back.

"But I can show you better than I can tell you" he said deviously as he gently climbed on top of her kissing her lips, then her neck, then leaving a trail of them from

her chest to her belly button.

" _Billyyyy"_ she groaned as she tilted her head back and ran her hands through his dark hair. Billy didn't look up, too entranced by the sweet taste of her skin.

He lifted his lips from her stomach, still hovering above. "What?", his breath rolled

across her skin and sent a wave of chills through her body.

"It's 5 o'clock in the evening" she said softly.

"Perfect, we can spend the rest of the night catching up on what we missed out on. That also brings me to my next question, what are you doing sleeping at 5 in the afternoon? Please tell me this was just a nap"

Phyllis slowly shrugged her shoulders.

Billy laughed at her innocent look. "Phyllis... you did _not_ just wake up, did you?"

"I was tired" she plead. "It was a long night." She looked away and then looked back at him again.

Billy raised his eyebrows and lifted her chin with his finger. "And may I ask why?"

Phyllis giggled in response to his reaction. "I was up all night wishing my handsome fiancé would give me a call"

He switched positions and turned over onto his back, his arm around her neck and her head resting familiarly on his now bare chest.

"Sorry I kept you up, business calls." He kissed her lightly on the top of her head. "Are you sure that's all it is? You're okay?"Hequestioned with a concerning look.

"I'm okay Billy" she reassured him. "Even better now that you're here with me." She threw her leg overtop of him, now straddling his hips and reached down to unbutton his pants.

"Now what were those plans you mentioned earlier, something about staying up all night?"


	2. Chapter 2

They woke up in a natural bliss that consisted of a tangled bundle of sheets, messy bed head, and a thin coating of sticky sweat from the humidity of the summers night heat.

Even in her most natural state, early in the morning, he thought she was themost beautiful thing in the world. Prettier than any woman, any beach, and any diamond there ever was.

He lifted his hanging arm from the edge of the bed and threw it over Phyllis' sleeping body, pulling her closer to him.

She didn't wake at the motion, which allowed Billy to watch his beloved sleep. He was fascinated as he studied her movements.

He studied the slight blink of her eyes, the steady rise and fall of her bare chest, and the way her nose twitched approximatelyevery 2 and a half minutes. He was entranced by her perfected beauty.

He let her sleep for a bit longer, contently admiring her. He then moved his hand from her shoulder and snuck it behind her, underneath the sheet, and ran his fingertips up and down the length of her naked back.

Phyllis stirred at the sensation and her eyes fluttered open.

Billy leaned in to kiss her on the tip of her nose which she followed with a yawn.

"Good morning, beautiful" Billy said with a smile. "Sorry to wake you"

"No need to apologize. I don't mind waking up to this" she said softly.

"You're not going to grow tired of waking up to me every morning?" Billy asked jokingly.

"Never, ever" Phyllis assured him with a kiss on the lips.

He wrapped his arm around her torso and rolled her over.

She now laid completely on top of him, Billy supporting the weight, nothing separating their bare bodies.

"Billy" Phyllis giggled. "I'm all sweaty, you don't want me all over you"

He laughed at her statement. "Trust me, there's nothing in the world that could ever keep me away from you." He ran his fingers through her auburn locks and tucked it behind her ear which he then began to nibble on.

Phyllis let out a laugh at the slight tickle. The first real laugh in a while. Billy knew how to bring out the best in her and vice versa.

They laid that way for a while until Phyllis tried to wiggle free from his embrace. "Okay, I seriously have to shower."

"You mean we have to shower" Billy said with a wink accompanied by a kiss on the slope of her neck.

"I would love for you to join me, but we both have somewhere to be and you would be a distraction that cost us hours" Phyllis hesitated. "Though it does sound tempting... But we can't. Not today."

"Okay" Billy said with a sigh, intentionally and jokingly sounding disappointed. "I guess I'll let you go"

He watched her climb off of him and wrap the taupe colored sheet around her body as she left the bed.

"Don't be long" he begged of her.

"I'll try" she said as she walked backwards towards the bathroom slowly dropping the sheet revealing herself. She stepped inside and closed the door.

Billy raised his eyebrows and bit his tongue. "You know, you're making it really hard for me to restrain myself from stripping down and following you" he yelled over the running water.

He heard her laugh and the sweet sound made him vow to do whatever it took, for the rest of his life, to keep her happy.

* * *

She stepped out of the shower and wrung out her hair with a towel. She rid her face from the residual makeup and slipped into a short, silk nightie before she had to get ready, knowing that it would provoke a reaction from Billy.

She really did miss himthese past 6 days.

She followed the smell of sizzling bacon into the kitchen and found Billy preparing a hearty breakfast for her. He stood at the sink washing his hands from the pancake batter that was stuck on them.

She snuck up behind him, wrapped her arms around his torso, and leaned her head on his muscular back. "You didn't have to do this."

"Of course I did" he smiled at her touch. "I wanted to make my fiancé a nice meal before work and show her how much I missed her."

He reached for the papertowels, dried his hands, and turned around in Phyllis' arms. He took a step back, finally seeing what she was wearing.

"Mmm" billy moaned. "You cant wear something like that around me..." He grabbed the back of her thighs, picked her up, and set her on the counter in front of him, "and expect me not to want to go straight back to bed."

She parted her legs as he stepped into them, leaning against the counter. He put his hands on the small of her back and pressed her body into his as he passionately kissed her.

Phyllis hopped down from the counter and walked over to the food sitting on the table. "I hate to say this, but I'm not really hungry Billy. And I'm meeting a coworker for lunch soon so I don't want to fill up" she lied.

"But you didn't eat last night either" he stated.

"Yeah, well I've been binging these past few days so there's enough food in me to last me a week" she lied again and provided a fake laugh.

"Okay, if you say so. I'll just throw it in the refrigerator then."

"Thank you. I'm gonna head upstairs and get ready for work." She pecked him on the lips.

* * *

Standing outside of her hospital room, he paced back and forth for hours, thinking about what he could've done to help.

He thought about everything he should've picked up on but didn't. And he thought about all the plans that he and Phyllis made for thefuture, and he prayed that they wouldn't slip away.


	3. Chapter 3

Billy couldn't concentrate, not when she was in that room without him, behind closed doors, unresponsive. Not when the woman he loved was fighting for her life. Not when the overwhelming thought of life without her was consuming his mind.

"Sir, I understand you want to see her but we need answers" the doctor attempted to keep up with his fast pacing motions.

He stepped in front of him, stopping Billy in his tracks. Defeated, Billy plopped in the chair beside him and held his head in his hands. He was tired, he hadn't gotten any sleep in the past 48 hours, but he wouldn't dare move from her side.

"Mr. Abbott" the doctor spoke again in a more demanding tone. "We need to know what happened, every detail helps."

"I already told you what happened" Billy barked, clearly frustrated.

"You told me that she collapsed" the doctor retorted, "visibly so, but I need to know everything leading up to that point."

"I need to know her workload, her sleeping patterns, eating patterns, medical history, and I need to know how she collapsed."

Billy flashed back to the incident at the doctors last words.

* * *

Phyllis had decided to stay home from work that day due to the constant nausea and fatigue that she was experiencing.

"At least let me stay home with you" Billy pleaded.

"Absolutely not" Phyllis insisted. "I know you have tons of work to do" she attempted to push him out of bed, knowing he wouldn't willingly leave.

" _C'monnn..._ Let me take care of you" he said as he resisted Phyllis' pushes and kissed her hand.

"Billy don't be ridiculous, I can take care of myself" she said almost sounding agitated, rolling over to face the nightstand beside her.

Billy got out of bed and walked over to kneel in front of her. "I just want to make sure you're okay, this is the third day in a row you've been complaining about this"

"I'm okay Billy, I've told you a hundred times, I'm fine" her voice now a bit raised.

Billy stood up, went over to the closet, and slipped on a pair of pants. He was baffled by her sudden spur of attitude.

"I'm sorry, I know you're trying to help" she spoke softly, her eyes still closed.

"No, don't apologize. I overstepped."

"No, no you didn't. You're my fiancé, I appreciate your desire to comfort me, I just don't want you to revolve your work schedule around me all because of a silly flu" Phyllis clarified as she attempted to get out of bed.

She sat up too quickly and her head spun as she tried to stand. She lost her balanced footing and stumbled into the nightstand, which she then used to brace herself.

She looked up, relieved to see Billy's back facing her. He'd insist she go to a doctor is he saw her stumble.

Billy turned around, now facing her. "And as your fiancé, it's my _job_ to revolve my life around you, around us." He stepped closer to her and placed a tender kiss on her cheek.

"That's sweet... But you're still going to work" she gave his chest a light pat.

* * *

Minutes began to feel like hours as the day dragged on. Phyllis found herself drifting in an out of sleep until the noise of the television would wake her back up.

She stepped onto the bathroom scale as she did religiously in the middle of the week before lunch. She was shocked at the number that appeared before her.

She tried changing the batteries, moving the scale to a different floor- nothing changed.

This couldn't be right. How had she lost 10 pounds in one week? This can not be accurate, she thought.

She brushed it off after a while and concluded that the weight loss was a simple result of the stress that she had been under lately. Work, wedding plans, and the absence of Billy for a week was a bit to deal with.

She made her way back down the stairs, with the intention of catching up on some paperwork since she couldn't make it into the office.

She had only made it down about four steps when all so suddenly, she felt a shooting pain in her head. It stopped her dead in her tracks as she tightly closed her eyes, winced at the pain, and steadied herself on the railing.

* * *

Billy had just finished up a stack of paperwork miles high for the new Brash and Sassy ad, and he still had another stack to go, but he figured he'd call it a day and go home.

It wouldn't do any good for him to stay anyways since the distraction ofPhyllis' wellbeing was weighing heavily on his thoughts from hours of not hearing from her.

He grabbed his jacket, turned off all the lights, and headed home.

* * *

The glare of headlights shone through the windows beside the front door and blinded Phyllis' eyes, but she was grateful someone was there. But it was too early for Billy to be home, wasn't it?

He stepped through the door, and quickly saw the panicked look on Phyllis' face now rubbing her temples, still standing in the same spot.

He threw his briefcase to the floor, no matter the contents, and was immediately on the step in front of her, stabilizing her waist with his hands.

"Hey, hey, hey what's wrong?" concern flowing from his voice.

She couldn't speak. Her body wouldn't allow her to. She got overheated and sweaty and the color was visibly draining from her cheeks.

"Phyllis, talk to me!" He was now shouting, holding her head with both of his hands, realizing it was the source of her pain.

-but she couldn't. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. Her vision began to blur as she lost consciousness and fell completely into Billy, nearly knocking the both of them down the stairs.

Luckily, Billy supported her weight and rushed her to the couch to lay her there carefully.

"Phyllis" he begged, shaking her body, attempting to get a response from her. "Baby, please... Answer me" his eyes began to well up as he rushed to retrieve his cell phone from the deep pocket of his pants.

He dialed 911 as he hovered over her body, stroking her hair. The other line picked up and he hurriedly provided the assistant with the information for an ambulance.

Billy shut the call off when finished and turned his attention back to his troubled fiancé.

"You hang in there... You'll be okay... I will make sureyou're okay" he allowed a tear to escape and it fell down his face.

The ride to the hospital felt like an eternity and Phyllis remained unconscious. He cursed himself for not following his gut instinct and staying home along with her.

They arrived at the hospital a short time later and the staff quickly transferred her from the stretcher to a mobile bed and adjusted her oxygen intake.

They rushed her to a room and Billy ran alongside the bed, hanging onto the rails while the wheels raced across the tile floor.

"You have to let me go in" he pleaded with the nurse, "she's my fiancé! You can't do this!" He shouted angrily.

"Mr. Abbott, I will update you on any new information we receive, but for now we play the waiting game" she told him calmly.

He knew that this was a battle he was not going to win, so he simply stared though the window looking in at her until they shut the curtains for privacy.

He couldn't stand just sitting there. His heart was physically breaking at the realization that the life of the woman he loves was in the hands of strangers, hot his. There was nothing he could do to help, and thatis where the situation stood.


	4. Chapter 4

Sitting at her bedside an hour later, he found comfort in being in her presence and in listening to the slight drip of the IV fluids and the steadied beep of the heart monitor, knowing she would soon wake.

The doctors still had to run tests, but they provided Billy with the relieving news that she was stable, though still unconscious, and to expect her to wake at any minute.

He sat there in that uncomfortable char, in the uncomfortable environment of a bustling hospital, and there was no where else he'd rather be. Sure, under different circumstances a hospital wouldn't be his preference, but right now he didn't care.

The only thoughts occupying his mind were those of Phyllis- not work, not his unsupportive family, not the dinner reservations he had made for the night, and definitely not Victoria- how had too big of an ego to actually believe that Billy could be in  
love with another woman.

There was a time when Billy could agree to that. There was a time when he lived and breathed for Victoria, but as years passed by, he realized that the love she held for her father would outwin any opponent that surfaced.

He knew that he was consumingly in love with Phyllis- but sitting here, thinking- _really_ thinking, he realized how much he needed her.

There was no one left on his side. He was abandoned. No ones loyalties lied with him, and he could accept that- as long as he had Phyllis it didn't matter.

He was caught mid thought by a subtle squeeze from her hand. His head shot upwards and her big green eyes stared quizzically into his own. He stood and his hands naturally found their way to the sides of her face.

"Oh thank God" Billy sighed, hovering over her body. He moved to go notify the nurse of her awakening, but Phyllis frantically clung to him, protesting his departure.

She tried to speak and wanted to ask where he was going, but her words came out slow, slurred, and hoarse.

"No, no, no, don't try to talk, I'm just going to get the nurse. I'll be back I promise" he assured her and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

He felt her body relax under his touch and he rushed out of the room to find the nurse. The sooner he found the nurse, the quicker he could get back to her.

He found her at the front counter filling out some paperwork and scanning over a sheet on her clipboard that appeared to be an MRI of the brain. He could've sworn he saw the name Phyllis Abbott on the top before she quickly flipped the paper upon his  
approach.

He furrowed his brows in confusion and then remembered the task at hand.

"She's awake" he touched her arm, leading the way back to the room, leaving no time for a response.

"Mrs. Abbott, great to see you. How are you feeling?" The nurse tentatively asked a now color restored Phyllis.

But this time, her voice had returned and her words were understandable.

"I'm okay" she said softly.

The nurse glanced over her shoulder at Billy and provided a light laugh. "You weren't kidding when you told me she's a stubborn one" she turned her attention back to Phyllis,"most people in your position would have a bit more complaining to do."

Billy stopped her. "Her position" he said sternly, "what exactly _is_ her position?" He walked over to her bedside seeing the panicked look on her face and laced his fingers tightly through hers.

"Right now, my job is to check her vitals and make sure she's comfortable" he spoke to her. "The doctor will be in in a few minutes with any test results."

Billy gave her some room and the nurse checked her heartbeat, her blood pressure, temperature, and then removed the IV from her arm.

Se quietly exited the room as Billy sat down next to Phyllis in the bed. He placed his hand on her thigh, just above her knee, and stoked it with his thumb.

Even through the blanket, his touch provided just as much comfort. Her hands laid clasped together in her lap and her head hung low while she stared at the mindless motions of her twiddling thumbs.

"Hey" he broke the silence. "Whatever this is, we will get through it together."

She didn't look up. She didn't respond.

"Phyllis"

Nothing.

He scooted closer to her and rested one hand atopof hers and lifted her chin with the other one so that she had no option but to look at him.

She looked deep into his eyes, trying to determine the expression in them.

Pure fear.

Her eyes rimmed with tears despite her internal vow to remain unbreakable, as she realized the potential of the situation.

Billy was always the reasonable one. He was the one who calmed her down when she was worked up, or stressed out, and even now he was reasonably trying to ease her mind.

But the overpowering emotion in his eyes trumped reason and she allowed the tears to fall. If Billy was this worried, it must be something far passed the simple word "bad".

"Billy" she cried. She hated doing it, but she had to- she relinquished all control, "I'm scared."

The words that she so rarely spoke ripped apart every shred of restraint that Billy had and he immediately felt a warm tear roll down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away and pulled himself together.

He wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He needed to be strong for her.

He leaned in close to her and rested his forehead against hers. Both of their eyes closed, his hand cradling the base of the back of her head, they sat in another terrifying silence.

He could lie to her and tell her that there's nothing to worry about, or he could reassure her of what she already knew for the thousandth time- that he loved her and would fight this, whatever this is, with her.

He knew she deserved nothing less than the truth, so he gave it to her.

"Me too"

He kissed the tip of her nose as they heard the door open.

Normally, when someone entered the room, Billy would respectfully exit the intimate bubble they always seemed to be in, and give her some room. But right now, they were both too caught up in each other's embrace to even care.

The doctor shut the door behind him and admired the couple with a sympathetic smile on his face.

It was clear how in love they were and the doctor was grateful for that because they'd have to rely on that love for their upcoming journey.

After a minute, the doctor cleared his throat and Billy and Phyllis finally acknowledged his presence.

"Sorry to interrupt" he made his way over to the bed.

"No need" Billy spoke up and offered his hand, "we're anxious for answers."

The doctor shook the hand that he offered, and Billy then placed it on Phyllis' shoulder while he probed her with questions.

There was a long silence until he stood and placed an x-ray on the wall which then illuminated in black, white, and grey.

Billy's jaw tightened and his mind raced as he recalled that it was the same image he had caught earlier on the nurses clipboard.

He started explaining to them what was on the screen, using the simplest of terms, and their hearts deflated in unison as he said the word for the first time...

Tumor.

There was a tumor in the back left of her brain.

"There's no easy way to say this, but most of the time, tumors in such an area, are almost always malignant."

"Cancer" Phyllis blurted out.

"Well, Mrs. Abbott, we haven't yet completed a biopsy so whether the tumor is benign or cancerous remains unknown."

He provided them with more information, answered the questions they had to the best of his ability, and gave them a few minutes alone, promising to be back with more news.

Silence had never been uncomfortable between the two of them, but this was new territory. Neither of them knew what to say or how to say it.

He knew she wasn't going to speak, so he did.

"Phyllis" he attempted to clear her tear stained cheeks.

He started to speak again but she cut him off.

"Billy don't. Don't try to minimize the situation. I know what this is" her eyes cut away from his.

"That's not true." He quickly protested. "He said there's a chance it's not"

"A small chance" she retorted.

More silence.

They both sat there and the tension was palpable. Not tension between the two of them, but between them and the situation.

They were too on edge to start a conversation- what else was there to talk about? They couldn't act like everything was normal. It wasn't.

20 minutes had passed until the doctor stood outside of the door, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

They both stared at him with wondering, nerve-racked eyes.

"The results are in." 


	5. Chapter 5

Phyllis took a deep breath and prepared herself for the information that could possibly change her life forever.

"There's good news and there's bad news" the doctor said with a bleak expression.

Her heart started racing as did Billy's and she shut her eyes and swallowed hard. "Okay, I'm ready"

The doctor folded his hands, shifted his eyes to Billy and then back to Phyllis again.

"Mrs. Abbott... I'm sorry. The tumor... Unfortunately..."

Her breath hitched as her heart skipped a beat and she knew right then what he intended to say.

"I'm sorry. You have brain cancer"

She had prepared herself for the worst, but no amount of preparation prepares you for the way it feels.

It took a while for the fact to sink in and Phyllis didn't move a muscle. She didn't cry, she didn't speak.

"Now before you let your mind get the better of you, it is in the early stages, so there are many treatments available."

Billy's stare could've burnt a hole straight through her. All the symptoms the doctor described suddenly made sense and he kicked himself for not seeing it.

"For now" the doctor continued, "go home, get some rest, let it sink in, and we'll schedule an appointment with an oncologist."

He walked over towards Phyllis who continued to hold her blank stare and placed his hand on her back and stoked it. "I'm sorry again, but we will do everything in our power to get you through this."

Billy thanked him as he exited the room.

More silence. The quiet room couldn't have been any louder. It was deafening. The tension, the sensitivity, the thoughts running through both of their minds- it was all so loud.

"You heard the man, let's get you home." Billy kissed the top of her head and stepped out of the room to fill out the discharge papers as Phyllis changed out of the hospital gown.

* * *

The car ride home was only about 15 minutes, but it felt signicantly longer. The soft music playing on the radio was the only noise filling the breech of silence, but it still wasn't enough to cover the sound of her sighs.

His left hand rested on her thigh in Billy's desperate efforts to provide her with any kind of support, but she didn't acknowledge it. She continued to stare out the window.

He knew she was scared, and understandably so- he was too. But besides the outcome of her cancer, his biggest fear was that she would push him away.

He put the car in park, took the keys out of the ignition, and walked over to the passenger side where Phyllis sat still in her seat- buckled and all.

Billy opened her door and stared at the blank expression on her face. He reached across her lap to unbuckle her seatbelt and waited for her to get out of the car.

But she didn't.

"Phyllis" he said gently. He addressed her, but didn't know what else to say. It was like walking on eggshells. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't want to push her either.

She said nothing. She simply turned towards him and fell into his embrace. He could tell that she was crying as she buried her head into his shoulder, though her tears were silent.

Billy gently lifted her from the car and shut the door. He held her in his arms until he could feel her breathing even out again.

He leaned back, forcing her to lift her head, and placed his hand on the side of her neck.

"You ready to go inside?"

She nodded her head and he wrapped his arm around her waist, leading them to the front door.

* * *

The ticks of the clock on the wall were audible as they sat on the couch together, attempting to have a light conversation.

"I- I can't do this" Phyllis shook her head, got up from the couch, and headed for the stairs.

That was it. Billy finally broke down. He held his head in his hands and let the emotions take course.

He hated seeing how uncomfortable this was making her. She was uncomfortable in the home that they shared- uncomfortable with him.

He sat on the couch as the voices in his head played through just about every scenario. They chronologically got worse and the last one brought Billy to his feet. He could not let her die.

He walked upstairs and entered the bathroom- he hoped that the cold water splashes would lift the terrible thoughts from his mind.

He could see the bed from the bathroom door and Phyllis lied atop of the sheets facing the window.

She had already slipped into her night clothes, though it was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the outfit that she wore earlier was shoved in the corner of the room.

Billy too stepped out of the suit that he had been in for over 2 days from the hospital. He put on a pair of athletic shorts and climbed into bed along with her.

"You awake?" Billy asked while placing a kiss on her shoulder.

"Not tonight Billy" she stammered.

"I wasn't- I was just- Phyllis... We need to talk about this" he dreaded the upcoming conversation.

She sat up a little bit which Billy determined as a sign to talk, but she only pulled back the sheets and buried herself underneath of them.

"I said not tonight Billy" her voice a bit raised now, her words muffled by the fabric.

It had been a long day for the both of them, hellit'd been a long _week._

 __

Billy sighed and crawled under the sheets as well. He scooted closer to her, wrapped his arm around her waist, and kissed her on the temple as he did every night.

She allowed his hand to rest there for only a minute or two, until she removed it from her body and placed it back at his side.

He sat there for hours while she lay asleep and he could feel her slipping away, not physically- not dying, but she was isolating herself.

A tear escaped from his eye as the flash of her engagement ring caught his attention- the ring that now rested on the nightstand, not her finger.


End file.
